Machine for bolling and cleaning cotton



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1..

J. M. GARDNER. MACHINE FOB BOLLING AND CLEANING GOTTON.

N0. 458,339. Patented Aug. 25, 1891.

3 SheetsSheet 2.

(No Model.)

,J. M. GARDNER. MACHINE FOR BO-LLING AND CLEANING 0013mm.

Pateni ed Aug. 25, 1891.

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MACHINE FOR BOLLING AND CLEANING COTTON.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JEFFERSON M. GARDNER, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

MACHINE FOR BOLLING AND CLEANING COTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 458,339, dated August25, 1891. Application filed February 1891. Serial No. 380,230. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JEFFERSON M. GARD- NER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State ofTennessee, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinesfor Bolling and Cleaning Cotton; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

This invention relates to machines for bolling and cleaning cotton.

The object of the invention is to producea cotton-cleaner whereby theseed-cotton may be separated from the bolls, dust, and any foreignsubstance, no matter in what quantities such refusemay be present in thecotton.

Furthermore, the object is to produce a cotton-cleaner so constructedthat the seedcotton may rapidly be extracted from the bolls, thusallowing cotton to be picked in the bolls and be separated by machinery,with great saving of time over the usual way of picking the seed-cottonfrom the bolls in the fields.

With these objects in view the invention consists, essentially, in amachine comprising two or more saw -cylinders, arranged one above theother, and toothed rollers whereby the cotton is projected against thesaws.

Furthermore, the invention consists in a machine comprising a feedingdevice, and two or more saw-cylinders arranged one above the other; alsoan automatic feed device by which the cotton is allowed to pass from oneseries of saws to the other.

Furthermore, the invention consists in a cotton-cleaner comprising twoor more sawcylinders, each provided with appropriate ribs between thesaws, toothed rollers arranged to have their projections extend betweenthe ribs at projections on the ribs, and a toothed cylinder arrangedadjacent to each saw, whereby the cotton is thrown against the saws, thesaid toothed cylinders being inclosed in a casing having an openingtoward the saws.

Furthermore, the invention consists in a cotton-cleaner comprising twoor more sawcylinders arranged one above the other, rapidly-revolvingtoothed cylinders arranged adjacent to each saw-cylinder, the toothedcylinders being inclosed in a casing having an opening adjacent to thesaws, and the casing of each cylinder being provided with a movablebottom, and,finally, the invention resides in various novel details ofconstruction 1 whereby the objects of this invention are attained.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machineconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalvertical section thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail view, showing the means ofoperating the movable bottoms of the casing inclosing the toothedcylinders. Fig. iis a detail sectional view, the section being taken onthe line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and o are detail views of a modifiedform of device for operating the movable bottoms of the casings for thetoothed cylinders.

In the drawings, A represents a hopper, into which the cotton to becleaned is placed, and A represents an endless belt provided with slatsa, having projecting pins a whereby the cotton is engaged and carriedupward to a rapidly-revolving cylinder 8', provided with teeth I) andarranged to revolve in a chamber E the concave bottom B of which isformed of perforated metal, wire-net, slats, or the like. The bottom ofthe chamber B adjacent to the portion B is provided with teeth b whichin connection with the teeth from the cylinder B serve to break up thebolls, &c., passing into the chamber B Arranged beneath the chamber B isa suction-fan C, communicating with the chamber B through a suitabletrunk, the purpose of this fan being to carry away any dust, leaves, orfine dirt which may be carried with or ad here to the cotton whenintroduced,and which is freed by the, action of the teeth of thecylinder B. From the chamber B the cotton is carried through a downwardpassage D to an upper chamber E, the lower portion of which is formed bythe casing F, open at one side and having mounted in it a toothedcylinder G, by which the cotton and bolls are caught and carried aroundrapidly in the casing and are thrown out at each revolution against sawsH, which are provided with suitable ribs I,

each rib having an extension c protruding rearward in a curved directioncorresponding to the circumference of the saws and terminating adjacentto brush U, by which the cotton is removed from the saws. The purpose ofthese curved extensions of the ribs is to maintain the seed-cotton andlint after they are drawn through the ribs at the periphery of the sawsand prevent them from falling between the saws until they are removedtherefrom by the brushes.

In the upper portion of the chamber E is a toothed cylinder K, the teethof which pass between the ribs I at about the point where the cottonengaged by the saws passes between the ribs. The cylinder K serves thepurposes of regulating the size of the opening through which the cottonis to be drawn and of preventing any clogging of the cotton at the pointwhere it passes between the ribs. This cylinder K is mounted inadjustable bearings, consisting of the brackets K secured to the frameof the machine and provided with yokes 10 in which slides the block 70that forms the bearing of the shaft of the cylinders. At the end of thebracket K is a swiveled screw-rod and nut 79 attached to the block W, bywhich the position of the roller K relative to the saws is regulated.The throwing of the cotton against the saws continues so long as itremains in the chamher, and at predetermined intervals a movable portionL in the bottom of the chamber E is displaced, leaving an opening,through which the bolls and any remaining seed-cotton are dropped into alower chamber M, corresponding to the chamber E. This chamber M isprovided with toothed cylinder below, saws, ribs, toothed cylinderabove, and has adjacent brushes, (these parts being marked,respectively, 0 P N U2) the same as the chamber E. The bottom of thechamber M is provided with a movable portion Q, corresponding to that ofthe chamber E. At the points where the cotton enters the chambers E andM are fenders K and N which respectively serve to prevent the cottonwhen entering the chambers from being engaged by the toothed cylinders KandN and allow the same to fall to the bottoms of the chambers, there tobe engaged, respectively, by the toothed cylinders G and O. Themechanism by which the movable bottoms are operated is of suchconstruction that the movable portion L of the chamber E is displacedtwice to each displacement of the movable portion of the chamber M andthe two chambers are never to be open at the same time. The means foraccomplishing this displacement are shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Inthis figure the dotted lines represent a toothed wheel R, upon the shaftof which are mounted the three cams 0' 7' and W. The cams r and r are soarranged as to engage the lower end of a lever R connected by a link rwith the head of the movable bottom L of the chamber E. The cam 'r is soarranged as to engage only the lever 4*, which is. connected by a link0' with the head of the movable bottom of the chamber M. As there aretwo of the cams 7- and r engaging the lever R and but one cam r engagingthe cam r, the movable bottom of the chamber E will be displaced twiceduring each revolution of the shaft of the wheel R, while the bottom ofthe chamber M will be displaced but once during each revolution. Thepurpose of this is to insure the perfect and complete engagement of allthe seed-cotton by the saws and the complete separation of theseed-cotton from the bolls and from matter which may be carried with thecotton, and to prevent discharge of any lint with the refuse matter whenthe final discharge at the bottom of the chamber M takes place.

In Fig. at of the drawings I have illustrated by a detail sectional viewthe manner in whichthe movable bottoms L and Q of the chambersE and M,respectively, are arranged. In this figure L represents a bracketsecured. to the outside of the casing of the machine and provided with abearing Z for the shaft of the rollers G and 0. Around each bearing Z isplaced a collar or head Z provided with a projection l, to which areattached means for shifting the positions of the movable heads. To thiscollar or head are attached the movable bottoms. As the bot-toms areattached only to the lower portions of the heads, their own weight willreturn them to their normal position after displacement.-

In Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings I have illustrated a modified form ofdevice for accomplishing the displacement of the movable bottoms of thechambers E and M.

In the modified form a wheel T is provided with two pins t 25 and theprojections T and T are connected, respectively, with the movablebottoms of the chambers E andsi The pin is shorter than the pin 25, andthe arm T is arranged a sufficient distance from the wheel T to escapethe pin t and at the same time is near enough to be engaged by thelonger pin t, while the projection 'l is arranged a suitable distancefrom the wheel to be engaged by both pins. By this arrangement it willbe seen that the movable bottom of chamber E is displaced twice duringeach operation of the wheel, while that of the chamber M is displacedbut once.

From both the upper and thelowerbrushes the cotton taken from the sawsis thrown upon a revolving cylinder V, provided with a wire or materialwhether the chambers open by sliding, hinged, or other gates, and thechambers may be combined with card-clothed, toothed, or other cylindersinstead of with saws.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new,-anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A cotton-cleaner comprising two or more series of saws arranged oneabove the other, cliambers for receiving the cotton while being operatedupon, the chambers being provided with movable bottoms, and means forauto matically opening the bottoms, substantially as described.

2. A cotton-cleaner comprising two or more chambers for receiving thecotton, each provided with a series of saws and ribs on one side, and atoothed roller arranged adjacent to the saws and having its teethprojecting into the space where the cotton passes be tween the saws andthe ribs, substantially as described.

3. A cotton-cleaner comprisingtwo or more series of saws arranged oneabove the other, chambers for receivingthe cotton while being operatedupon, the chambers being provided with movable bottoms, means forautomatically opening the bottoms, and a toothed roller arranged in eachchamber adjacent to the movable bottoms, whereby the cotton, after beingacted upon once by the saws, is thrown against them to be acted uponagain, substantially as described.

4. A cotton-cleaner comprising two or more chambers arranged one abovethe other, a series of saws projecting into each chamber, toothedcylinders wherebythe cotton is thrown against the saws, each chamberbeing provided with a movable bottom, projections from the movablebottoms, and revolving pins or cams engaging projections from themovable bottoms, whereby the bottoms are displaced.

5. A cotton-cleaner comprising two or more chambers arranged one abovethe other, each chamber being provided with a series of saws and eachbeing provided with a revolving toothed cylinder by which the cotton isthrown against the saws, each chamber being pro vided with a movablebottom attached to a revolving head, a projection from the head, and awheel provided with cams or pins engaging the projections from theheads, Whereby the bottoms are displaced, substantially as described.

6. A cotton-cleaner comprising two or more chambers arranged one abovethe other, aseries of saws projecting into each chamber and providedwithribs, a revolving toothed cylinder for throwing the cotton against thesaws, and a cylinder arranged at the point where the cotton passesbetween the saws and the ribs, substantially as described.

7. A cotton-cleaner comprising. two or more chambers arranged one abovethe other, aseries of saws projecting into each chamber and providedwith ribs, a revolving toothed cylinder for throwing the cotton againstthe saws, a toothed roller arranged at the point where the cotton passesbetween the saws and the ribs, and fenders arranged over the toothedrollers, which are arranged between the saws and the ribs, substantiallyas set forth.

8. A cotton-cleaner comprising two or more chambers for containingcotton to be operated upon,each chamberbeing provided with means forseparating the seed-cotton from the bolls and each being provided with amovable bottom, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JEFFERSON M. GARDNER. Witnesses:

DAVID H. MEAD, F. B. KEEFER.

